


days of inspiration

by IrreverentFangirl



Series: making something out of nothing [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: ADHD, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Angst, Anxiety Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Depression, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Open Relationship, Other, Polyamory, Trans Female Character(s), Trans Male Character, established relationship(s) - Freeform, neurodivergent characters, polycule, set post-bitty’s senior year
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-11-02 02:25:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10935030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IrreverentFangirl/pseuds/IrreverentFangirl
Summary: After Derek learns that because of his parents jobs he would be alone all summer, Chris invites him to join him and Caitlin on a road trip to California. Turns a cross-country trip is just what they need to help the relationships evolve into something stronger, involving all three of them.





	days of inspiration

**Author's Note:**

> can u believe i lived in crestline for a year and murrieta (the town bordering temecula) for thirteen-ish years and i _still_ had to google all that travel time? pshaw. 
> 
> anyways, i had chowder and farmer grow up in temecula & crestline bc i know those places, lmao. also, turns out the quickest way to make me spit out fic is for me to find bullshit discourse about my favorite ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> this is unbeta'd

_To **days of inspiration**_  
_Playing hookey, making_  
_Something out of nothing_  
_The need to express-_  
_To communicate,_  
_To going against the grain,_  
_Going insane, going mad_  
_To loving tension, no pension_  
_To more than one dimension,_  
_To starving for attention_

_**Rent La Vie Boheme** _

As always, Derek noticed the second Chris walked in. He was in the middle of a conversation with his mama, but knew if he didn’t want to start crying in front of his boyfriend, he should end it now. “Hey, mama, C just came in. I gotta go.”

“Oh! Ok, beloved. I love you,” Zara said, though the worry in her voice hadn’t wavered.

“I love you too,” Derek said.

“Do you want me to tell mami anything?”

Derek chuckled and blinked away his tears. “Ya, tell mami I love her too and that I’m excited to see you both at the end of the summer, if God wills it. With peace.”

“With peace, beloved. I love you.”

“Love you too,” Derek said one last time, before hanging up and turning to Chris. “Hey, C, sorry about that. What’s up?” he asked, switching from Arabic to English.

“Not much. But first things first, pronouns?”

“Masculine pronouns today, please. I’m a dude, right now,” Derek responded, smiling lightly.

Chris grinned back. “Of course, Der. Can I sit next to you and put my arm around you?”

Derek’s smile grew. “Duh. You don’t even have to ask, C, you know that.”

Chris shrugged as he went to sit down next to Derek. “And, yet, I’m going to ask every time. Now what’s wrong?” He wrapped an arm around Derek’s waist and Derek relaxed, resting his head on Chowder’s shoulder.

“Ah, mama and mami are going on a business cruise, Rita’s visiting Mikey’s family in Colorado with them and Crystal, and papa’s gonna be busy at work. So, I’m gonna be alone for most of the summer,” Derek said, sighing.

Chris frowned. “Well, why don’t you just come with me and Cait to California? I mean, it’s pretty ridiculously hot in Temecula right now, but who really cares? Obviously I’m not trying to - ”

Derek’s eyes widened and he leaned up to interrupt Chris with a kiss. “Babe, chill! That actually sounds like a lot of fun. Would we just be visiting Temecula though?”

“Nah, of course not. Cait wants to visit Crestline too, see her parents. And we’re planning to go to San Diego for a while, maybe Knotts Berry Farms? It’d take about a week to get to Temecula from here and then it’s a couple of hours from Temecula to Crestline. We were thinking maybe a week with Cait’s family, a week with mine, a day in San Diego, a day in Anaheim, then like three days in San Francisco?”

Derek’s eyes lit up and he giggled as he eased back into Chris’s embrace. “Okay, I wanna come with. Are you sure Caity will be fine with me coming?”

Chris snorted and pulled xem back into an embrace. “Babe, Cait loves you as much as I do. She’d be thrilled if you came with!”

Dee beamed at him and cuddled further into his arms. “I love you, C.”

“Love you too, Derek,” he said, hugging him tighter.

…

A few hours later, Derek was in his room, packing, when his sister called. He picked up and said, “Rita, asalamu alaikum.”

“Walaikum asalaam,” Rita said, her comfortingly familiar voice making him smile. She continued, in Arabic, “Now, little brother, I heard mama told you about all our summer plans? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, I completely forgot - !”

Derek laughed a bit as he cut her off. “Calm down, Ree. I’m not holding a grudge and I actually have plans too. I’m going to California with C and Caity.”

“Oh, good for you Der! I’m so happy you and your metamour get along so well. I remember, before I broke up with Sasha, how much she and Crystal fought. It was a disaster.”

Derek chuckled and shook his head. He loved talking to Rita, she always knew how to make him feel better. “I remember you complaining about it, Ree. And, actually, it’s looking like Caity and I might get together.”

“Yay! Oh, Der, that’s good for you. From what you’ve told me, Caitlin’s a good girl. You should bring her and Chris around sometime.”

“Maybe I will,” Derek said as he set the phone between his shoulder and cheek so he could continue packing. “But, yeah, I’m visiting with them. So I’ll be fine, really, and you won’t have to worry about me. I’m a big boy now, Ree. I can take care of myself.” He laughed again as she snorted at, picturing the way she shook her head in his mind.

“Whatever, Der-bear. Anyways, I should go, but I love you.”

“Love you too. With peace.”

“With peace.”

As Derek hung up, he realized how much better he felt. It was weird how talking to Rita always made him feel better and it was even weirder that doing so made him feel better about not seeing her over the summer.

Besides, he had his own adventure to go on.

**Author's Note:**

> cliche ending is cliche. it gets better, i swear. also i don't speak arabic, nor am i muslim, so if i made any mistakes please correct me! thank you! 
> 
> check out [my check please sideblog](http://nonbinarydereknurse.tumblr.com/), which is a great place to yell at me to write, i stg


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